Yes, Magic Again Won At Home, But On The Road?

April 29, 1995|By Brian Schmitz of The Sentinel Staff

The road-paranoid Orlando Magic are comforted by the fact that they can travel through the Eastern Conference playoffs if they simply hold home-court serve. This thinking is hardly practical for title contenders, given a look at NBA history. Meaning, the Magic, a 124-77 victor over Boston Friday, better plan on making road improvements if they want to go anywhere.

The last team to go unbeaten at home during postseason play and win the NBA title was the Los Angeles Lakers in 1986-87. L.A. went 10-0 at The Forum, but these Lakers of Kareem and Magic were one of the best teams in league history. They won 65 games, going 37-4 at home and 28-13 on the road.

The Celtics - no relation to the rag-tag collection appearing at the O-rena this weekend - also finished 10-0 in 1985-86 en route to the title. The Larry Bird Celtics won 67 games that season, including an NBA-record 40-1 at the Boston Garden.

Perhaps the team most comparable to the Magic would be the surprising Portland Trail Blazers in 1976-77. The Trail Blazers were not as respected as the Magic, but like Orlando, the franchise was in its sixth year after expansion.

The Bill Walton Blazers had finished four games behind L.A. in the Pacific and had a woeful 14-27 road record. But Portland, 35-6 at friendly Memorial Coliseum, blazed to a 10-0 record at home to capture the championship over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Orlando's dismal 18-23 road record only adds to the mounting pressure on the league's marquee team. ''We have a gun to our heads,'' Celtics forward Dino Radja said. ''But the Magic have a cannon. All the pressure is on them.''

Baseball fans are delivering to the majors the brushback pitch.

Robbed of last season's record-breaking runs of star players and the World Series because of a nonsensical strike, fans have shown their disgust by avoiding the ballpark. Dramatic declines in attendance has to have clubs worried and wondering about the future for the game.

Well, owners and players asked for it.

On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates drew an announced crowd of just 7,047 - and attendance was probably less than half of that. The San Diego Padres attracted only 7,468 against the Houston Astros. The Minnesota Twins had their smallest home-opener ever (26,425) at the Metrodome.

Only 13,483 showed up at Busch Stadium in St. Louis - and tick-

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Hey, Foreman, Tyson is on horizon

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ets were half price.

Fans seemed to forgive and forget after past strikes. But instead of flocking back like sheep, the customers are hitting teams where it hurts: the box-office. Good for them.

It sends a message that says, ''Strike again, baseball, and you'll go the way of soccer.''

I jumped off the Save The Boxers Bandwagon long ago, figuring if a guy wants to risk his noggin, it's his noggin. But I'd applaud George Foreman if he'd retire and save himself an emergency-room visit at the fists of Mike Tyson.

It was bad enough that judges gave a battered Foreman a victory he didn't deserve last Saturday against Axel Schulz in an IBF title fight. Rotten are decisions are common in a sport propped up banana-republic politics and alphabetical organizations.

But what will be more appalling to the senses is to see Foreman carried out of the ring against Tyson on his shield (read: stretcher). Foreman says he wants to fight Tyson, but hopefully he's just blowing smoke. Hopefully, he is wisely hiding behind the excuse that a matchup with Tyson can't be made if promoter Don King is involved.

Foreman looked so pitiful against Schulz that a commission - instead of demanding a Foreman-Schulz rematch after further review - ought to protect him from himself. Foreman has been good for boxing as its pudgy senior citizen. You'd hate to see him take a merciless, if not debilitating, beating.

The problem with star boxers is that they forever search for the perfect ending. Few find one. Foreman already missed his after shocking Michael Moorer last year to become the oldest man to win the title at 46. His exit may need to carry a viewers' warning label.